Windows, doors, and other musings.

3/30/10 Things continue to move slowly for several reasons.  The rainy weather has caused delays.  The contractor is trying to juggle several jobs.  Since it is a new concept for the county building inspectors, everything must be engineered and stamped.  It is a new process for the engineer and he, too, is juggling jobs and doing research.  Since the last post, we have gotten all the windows and the sliding glass door installed.  Windows and doors are built to be installed against a flat surface, which must be created within a corrugated wall.  We tried two different ways of installing the windows.  One of the pictures shows how we have used 1/8" flat stock to bridge the low spots in the corrugation. Angle iron was used to true and stiffen the wall to receive the window.  The other was a full frame made of angle iron.  Another picture shows the concrete block bases for the support posts for the porch and carport roof. We hope to begin the framing next week which includes installing the roof trusses, building the decks and framing out the inside.  As to the inside framing, we determined that an exterior sprayed foam shell was too expensive and we would use conventional insulation within an interior wood frame.  Johnny felt this method would make electrical and plumbing installation more efficient.  We are planning to further insulate and increase retro-reflectivity by adding ceramic beads to the exterior paint (see NASA web site on ceramic paint).  We continue to shop at the Habitat for Humanity ReStores.  An eight foot entry door with side lights for $95 is hard to beat.  We also bought a full set of kitchen cabinets (no countertop) for $800.  If anyone has questions or comments or suggestions as to information sources, you can email me at john@marmacwire.com.